Today was another day being floored by the absolutely beautiful natural landscapes of Iceland. We first stopped to see part of the glacier that covers eight percent of Iceland, called Vatnajökull. At the Glacial Lagoon, created by the melting of the glacier itself, many seals and other marine creatures take refuge in the shallow waters away from predators. So when we were there, we saw a seal lounging away on a shard of glacial ice that was floating downstream. Probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
Also at this spot, you can see the black sand beaches. The black sand comes from basaltic rocks formed from mafic lava flows. The word mafic comes from the elements that define it, magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe). Along the beach, you can find pieces of glacier that have broken off and washed up on the shore, and that’s how it was given the name Diamond Beach.
After this, we went on a hike to see a waterfall, but for once, the waterfall wasn’t the main attraction, but the rock formations around it. One of the cool things about basaltic rock is that if cooled in the proper conditions they create hexagonal columns, and these can be seen all around Iceland, but maybe none as impressive as the one seen below.
Swanson School of Engineering 